Ray Winstone has reignited his feud with a Hollywood co-star he found to be “very rude” and “up his own a**e”.
Since his screen debut in the 1970s, the British actor has worked with many A-list stars, including Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast, Brad Pitt in Ripley’s Game, and Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
One co-star Winstone doesn’t recall fondly, however, is Jack Nicholson, with whom he shared scenes in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning crime drama The Departed.
Released in 2006, the film follows an undercover agent (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a spy (Matt Damon) as they try to keep their identities hidden, with DiCaprio’s character infiltrating an Irish gang led by Nicholson’s boss, Frank Costello. Winstone plays Costello’s right-hand man, Arnold “Frenchie” French.
Winstone, 68, has shared his honest thoughts on Nicholson, 88, in a new interview, stating: “We just didn’t get on.”
After saying he “didn’t like” him, the Gentlemen actor continued: “Listen, he’s getting older, and maybe there are a lot of things going on with him.”
“I thought he was so far up his own a***e it was unbelievable. And he was very rude,” Winstone said during an appearance on the podcast Things We Like with Eamonn & Paul.
According to Winstone, Nicholson was also “rude” to his wife, Elaine. “If he had been a younger man, I’d have definitely knocked him out,” he said.
Winstone did give the three-time Oscar-winning star of One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest and As Good as It Gets “credit” for being “fantastic at what he does”.
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“He’s a great writer as well, by all accounts – at least that’s what he kept telling us,” Winstone continued.
“But at the same time, I can’t make an excuse for him. My grandfather was an old man, but he was a gentleman. He was a lovely man. So f*** him, basically. Why should I say I like him? I don’t. You ask me the question, you get the answer.”
Winstone previously said of their feud toThe Independent: “It doesn’t worry me. It doesn’t shock me. You clash a little bit. He’s not the first person I’ve clashed with. He won’t be the last.”
He suggested that Nicholson was “arrogant”, stating: “There’s no need for it. This kind of feeling of being above everyone else. We all end up in the same hole in the ground.
“But some people have this smarmy little side mouth – and there are different ways of dealing with that. You either say your piece and tell them to shut the f*** up. Or you punch them in the mouth.”
Despite their differences, Winstone said he would work with Nicholson again since he is a “fantastic actor”.
The Independent has contacted Nicholson for comment.
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